October 31, 2009:
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Hundreds came to the Regional Market Saturday morning to protest the closing of the Paine family donut shop.
Market managers closed the shop last week, citing health violations. The closure came just weeks after managers requested that the shop be moved from its original location to make room for an informational booth.
Many of the people who attended Saturday's protest have signed a petition asking that the shop remain open. Owner Ben Paine says he believes the market is bullying him by shutting down the shop, which he says has been a market and community stable for years.
NewsChannel 9 submitted a freedom of information law request to understand why the market was shut down. The Regional Market manager Eugene Elemos submitted photos he says are evidence that the shop violated health rules with its equipment. A letter from the Regional Market Authority said there were disappointing and disturbing findings, which included dirty coolers with slimy water.
Paine was asked to empty all of his personal possessions from the shed before the end of Saturday. He says he is grateful for all of the support that has been shown to him, but is unsure what to do with the petition.
October 25, 2009:
Donut stand shut down by Regional Market
Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - The aroma of a favorite fried treat was missing from the Regional Market this weekend. The market decided to shut down the Paine family's donut stand and revoke their food lease due to inspection violations.
Ben Paine, who runs the stand, says he doesn't understand why.
"The situation is they have shut us down for a few bogus inspections that are not by the board of health, but by the market rules. It doesn't make sense at all to take a viable real estate place that's paying rent, bringing in customers, especially during during the winter time when there aren't that many customers and put in an information booth," Paine says.
Paine says he went to the Board of Health and presented some of the inspection issues. They explained how he could fix the citations and Paine says he did what needed to be done to make the situation better.
However, the Regional Market's manager Eugene Elemos says the requirements of the health department and the Regional Market are different. Problems with the shop's tables, coolers, floors and donut-making machine were cited and Elemos says these are simply things the market cannot overlook.
"I can't just make a rule because you and me like this donut. I can't do that. I can't afford to get somebody sick from anywhere here in the market because that vendor isn't the only one who is going to suffer from it," Elemos says.
Paine counters Elemos' claims, saying he has passed health inspections every time they have visited his booth. However, the market says he is still not meeting their standards. Elemos says that is the only reason Paine has lost his food lease and whether he will be getting it back remains unclear.
Earlier this month, the Paine family, who have run the donut stand at the Regional Market since it opened in 1938, were asked to move it in November.
Market's donut and farm stand moved, October 10, 2009
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The Paine family from Granby has been selling produce at the Regional Market since it opened in 1938.
About ten years ago, they added a donut stand – and now, the market says the Paines must split the farm and concession stands to make way for an information booth.
In this one of Your Stories, we found out how the family depends on its current location to make a living.
Ben Paine, who runs both the farm and the donut stands, says the donuts are a money-maker.
“It's our livelihood. The donut shed is probably 60 percent of what we take in in a year's time,” Paine says.
That cash keeps the family farm and a 71-year-old tradition -- the produce stand -- going.
Paine's 90-year-old mother, Esther, has been there since day one. She says she couldn't bear to give up her spot -- or her friends -- at the Regional Market.
“This morning, I bet there's 10 people coming down here because I haven't been coming, I've got arthritis bad,” says Esther Paine. “They were so tickled to see me, and I was glad to see their faces too.”
In November, the Paines will have to move their donut stand from here in the A-shed all the way over to the C-shed. Ben Paine says he can't afford to make the move.
“Being over here with the stalls together, we can take care of it. If they split it up, we can't do it. We'll just have to quit. I can't hire help to do it,” he says.
Esther also worries people wouldn't know where to find them.
“This farm has been our life's work. It's where we make our living, and my son and my grandchildren will do it,” she says.
The Paines say they'll do everything they can to stay right where they are.
Regional Market Executive Director Ben Vitale says he needs that donut shed to house the market's new info booth during the winter months. He says the board plans -- at least for now -- to move the Paines back into that spot in May for the growers' season.
He says the Paine family's concerns will likely be discussed at the next board meeting on October 20th.
